Christopher Allan Gratton (born July 5, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who last played with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the cousin of Josh Gratton, who had also briefly played in the NHL as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers and the Phoenix Coyotes.
| Chris Gratton | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Gratton with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2007 | |||
| Born |
July 5, 1975 Brantford, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 230 lb (104 kg; 16 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Tampa Bay Lightning Philadelphia Flyers Buffalo Sabres Phoenix Coyotes Colorado Avalanche Florida Panthers Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
| National team |
 Canada | ||
| NHL draft |
3rd overall, 1993 Tampa Bay Lightning | ||
| Playing career | 1993–2009 | ||
Early life
editGratton's father coached him for one season during his youth.[1]
Playing career
editJunior hockey
editGratton played his minor hockey in his hometown of Brantford, Ontario, playing for such programs as the Brantford Nodrofsky Steelers (the same program Wayne Gretzky played in many years earlier) and the Brantford CKPC Knights. As a 15-year-old, he played one season with the Jr B Brantford Classics.
In 1991, Gratton was selected third overall in the OHL Priority Selection by the Kingston Frontenacs. After his rookie year in the OHL, Gratton received the Emms Family Award as rookie of the year. In 1993, he was selected third overall in the NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tampa Bay Lightning
editGratton made his NHL debut for the Lightning on October 6, 1993, against the New Jersey Devils. He recorded his first career NHL point (a powerplay assist on a Bob Beers goal) in his second game against the New York Rangers the next night. He scored his first career NHL goal against Robb Stauber of the Los Angeles Kings in a 4–3 Lightning loss on October 20, 1993[2]
Philadelphia Flyers
editIn 1997, Gratton signed with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent after four seasons with the Lightning, earning a $9 million signing bonus. In 1997–98, Gratton matched his career-high of 62 points and recorded a career-best plus/minus rating of +11. Gratton was traded back to Tampa Bay the next season.
Second stint with Lightning
editGratton served as Tampa Bay's captain during the 1999–2000 season until his trade in March, 2000, when Tampa Bay traded him to the Buffalo Sabres.
Buffalo Sabres
editGratton arrived in Buffalo, along with Doug Gilmour, near the trade deadline of the 1999–2000 season.[3] Buffalo added both with the hope that they could revive the team's fortunes and propel them to the Stanley Cup playoffs.[4] The Sabres eventually did qualify for the 2000 playoffs, but were eliminated in five games by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round.
Gratton eventually played three seasons with the Sabres, scoring at least 15 goals in each year. In his first full season with Buffalo, he recorded 19 goals and again helped the Sabres reach the playoffs. He notched five goals in helping the Sabres beat the Flyers in the first round, though his production dipped to a single goal in the next round against the Pittsburgh Penguins as the Sabres were eliminated in seven games.
Gratton would still be productive in his final two years in Buffalo, though the team failed to reach the playoffs. His final year in Buffalo was his most productive, reaching 44 points and 15 goals in 66 games, good enough for second in team scoring behind Miroslav Šatan.
Phoenix Coyotes
editGratton would play for the Sabres until March 2003, when the Sabres traded him to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Daniel Brière. One year later, on March 9, 2004, Phoenix traded Gratton (along with Ossi Väänänen and a second-round draft pick that was ultimately used to select Paul Stastny in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft) to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Derek Morris and Keith Ballard.[5]
Florida Panthers
editAfter the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Gratton signed a one-year contract with the Florida Panthers. Gratton signed a two-year contract extension with the Panthers in March 2006.[6] He was traded back to the Tampa Bay Lightning again on June 13, 2007, in exchange for a second-round draft pick (ultimately used to select Jacob Markström).[7]
Return to Tampa Bay Lightning
editDuring the 2007–08 season, Gratton scored 21 points in 60 games before tearing the acetabular labrum in his left hip which required season-ending surgery.[8] Gratton re-signed with the Lightning for the 2008–09 season but was waived in December and was assigned to Tampa Bay's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals.[9]
Columbus Blue Jackets
editGratton was claimed off of re-entry waivers on February 21, 2009, by the Columbus Blue Jackets.[10] He played in six games for Columbus, recording an assist, before retiring from professional hockey in 2009.
Personal life
editGratton lives in Ancaster, Ontario, and has one son, Zachary, who plays hockey, and three daughters. He has coached his son in minor hockey, first in house league in Ancaster, then for AA and eventually with the Hamilton AAA Jr. Bulldogs' bantam team.[11][12]
Gratton is co-owner of the Florida Jr. Blades Organization (in the 29-team Empire Junior Hockey League).
Gratton is the head coach of the Welland Jr. Canadians Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1989–90 | Brantford Classics | MWJHL | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Brantford Classics | MWJHL | 31 | 30 | 30 | 60 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | 62 | 27 | 39 | 66 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | 58 | 55 | 54 | 109 | 125 | 16 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 42 | ||
| 1993–94 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 84 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 46 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 89 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 82 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 105 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 27 | ||
| 1996–97 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 82 | 30 | 32 | 62 | 201 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 82 | 22 | 40 | 62 | 159 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 1998–99 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 26 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 52 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 58 | 14 | 27 | 41 | 121 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 14 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2000–01 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 82 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 102 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 14 | ||
| 2001–02 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 82 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 66 | 15 | 29 | 44 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 68 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | ||
| 2005–06 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 76 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 104 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 81 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 94 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 60 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 24 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1,092 | 214 | 354 | 568 | 1,638 | 40 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 82 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Canada | WJC | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | |
| 1997 | Canada | WC | 11 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 14 | |
| 1998 | Canada | WC | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| Senior totals | 15 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 18 | |||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Ex-NHL'er has AAA credentials". The Hamilton Spectator. 6 March 2018.
- ^ "Los Angeles Kings at Tampa Bay Lightning Box Score — October 20, 1993".
- ^ "Sabres acquire Gilmour, Gratton". Globe & Mail. 2004-03-11. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
- ^ "Sabres acquire Gilmour, Gratton". Globe & Mail. 2004-03-11. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
- ^ "Avalanche acquire Salo, Gratton". CBC. 2004-03-09. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ^ "Panthers lock up Chris Gratton". CBC.ca. 2006-03-09. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ "Chris Gratton traded back to Lightning". CBC.ca. 2007-06-13. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ "Lightning's Chris Gratton to undergo hip surgery". lightning.nhl.com. 2008-02-28. Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ "Lightning assign NHL veteran Chris Gratton to Admirals". oursportscentral.com. 2008-12-09. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ "Lightning cast off Chris Gratton in waiver-wire move". sportingnews.com. 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2009-06-07.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Ex-NHL'er has AAA credentials". The Hamilton Spectator. 6 March 2018.
- ^ "Organization Contact List (Hamilton Jr Bulldogs)".
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database